Venous leg ulcers occur due to chronic venous insufficiency in the lower extremities and are often difficult to heal. Platelet-rich plasma and platelet-rich fibrin are products that contain high concentrations of platelets. This systematic review evaluated the effectiveness, safety and cost-effectiveness of these products for the treatment of venous leg ulcers. Guided by the 2020 Joanna Briggs Institute systematic review of effectiveness guideline, this review included original studies that investigated platelet-rich plasma and platelet-rich fibrin in the treatment of venous leg ulcers from databases including the Cochrane Library, Embase, Medline, CINAHL, PubMed, World Health Organisation International Clinical Trials Registry, Clinical Trials.gov and Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry. Methodological quality was assessed using relevant appraisal checklists. Information related to general characteristics of included articles and relevant outcomes of interest were extracted and synthesised narratively. Of thirty-six eligible studies, 24 studies used platelet-rich plasma, eleven investigated fibrin-rich plasma and one study used both platelet-rich plasma and fibrin-rich. Most studies reported these products were effective in promoting wound healing, reducing other symptoms, and were safe to use. The use of platelet-rich plasma and platelet-rich fibrin resulted in significantly higher healed venous leg ulcers compared to control using conventional treatment (RR: 2.93, 95% CI, 1.90–4.53, p = 0.01). These products were safe to used topically and promoted to wound healing, reduced pain, either along or combined with other treatments. Platelet-rich plasma and fibrin-rich plasma improves wound healing and appears to be safe to use in the treatment of venous leg ulcers.
by Emelia Konadu Danso, Prince Asare, Amanda Yaa Tetteh, Phillip Tetteh, Augustine Asare Boadu, Ivy Naa Koshie Lamptey, Augustina Angelina Sylverken, Kwasi Obiri-Danso, Jane Sandra Afriyie-Mensah, Abraham Adjei, Dorothy Yeboah-Manu
Drug-resistant (DR) tuberculosis (TB) and diabetes mellitus (DM) are intersecting epidemics that complicate management of both diseases and worsen patient outcomes. We conducted a prospective cohort study of 758 GeneXpert-confirmed pulmonary TB patients, of whom 75 had DM. Demographic, clinical, radiographic, and anthropometric data were collected at baseline. Sputum samples were cultured for mycobacterial isolation, and the obtained isolates were characterized for Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) lineage and drug-susceptibility testing using spoligotyping and microplate alamar blue assay. The TB-diabetes (TB-DM) comorbid cohort was older [TB-DM: 53/75 (70.7%) vs. 241/683 (35.3%) aged 41–60 years) (pTo determine whether a biopsychosocial model of suicidality, specifically sleep, nutrition, physical exercise, mindfulness, social connectedness, lower socioeconomic status (SES) and sex are uniquely associated with increased suicidal ideation, longitudinally over adolescence.
Longitudinal, prospective cohort study.
A structured self-report questionnaire was collected as part of the Longitudinal Adolescent Brain Study at the University of the Sunshine Coast’s Thompson Institute (Queensland, Australia) from July 2018 to January 2024.
159 Australian adolescents (n=91 female; 68 male) aged 12 to 17 years.
Self-reported suicidal ideation was measured longitudinally. Data were also collected on self-reported lifestyle factors (sleep, nutrition, physical exercise, mindfulness and social connectedness), psychological distress, SES and sex. All measures were collected at 4-monthly intervals for each participant for up to 5 years (maximum of 15 time points).
Significant relationships were identified between increased suicidal ideation and poor sleep (OR 2.6, 95% CI 1.4 to 4.6, p=0.002), socioeconomic disadvantage (SES quintile 1: OR 6.3, 95% CI, 1.8 to 21.8, p=0.004; SES quintile 2: OR 8.7, 95% CI 1.4 to 56.2, p=0.022), psychological distress (OR 5.7, 95% CI 2.1 to 15.6, p≤0.001) and eating habits (β –0.08, 95% CI –0.2 to –0.0).
Poor sleep, socioeconomic disadvantage, psychological distress and eating habits were all found to be significantly associated with increased adolescent suicidal ideation over time. These biopsychosocial factors should be considered in targeted interventions and policies for reducing adolescent suicidality. Further research should employ multilevel modelling to examine factor interactions and rigorously evaluate interventions targeting lifestyle factors and socioeconomic inequalities through randomised controlled trials and quasi-experimental designs.
This study aimed to (1) assess Lumos data quality, a New South Wales (NSW) statewide linked health data asset; and (2) determine sociodemographic variation in health service utilisation of general practice, emergency department and admitted services.
A retrospective cohort study using Lumos, a linked health data asset.
A representative statewide sample population of NSW, Australia.
People residing within NSW with an electronic health record at a Lumos participating general practice between January 2010 and June 2023.
Data quality indicators of Lumos including completeness, representativeness against NSW population data, consistency and timeliness. Furthermore, variation in general practice visits, emergency department presentations and hospital admission rates stratified by age, sex, rurality and Index of Relative Socio-economic Disadvantage (IRSD)—a measure of socioeconomic status used in Australia, where lower values represent greater relative disadvantage across a range of metrics such as education and income.
At the time of analysis, Lumos included records from 5.2 million unique patients, representing half (49.7%) of the NSW resident population. Limiting data to 2022, the Lumos population distribution broadly aligned with the 2021 Census except for IRSD quintile four and five which were under-represented (15.0% vs 20.4% (standardised difference –0.14)), and over-represented (29.7% vs 19.9% (standardised difference 0.23)), respectively. Age and greater relative disadvantage were associated with higher rates of general practice visits and hospital admissions. Greater relative disadvantage was also associated with higher rates of emergency department presentations.
Lumos’s ability to overcome historical limitations of separately managed health data in Australia and its demonstrated data quality present an opportunity to enhance health system policy and planning in NSW. The variation in service utilisation across primary and tertiary care by population and geography apparent in Lumos reinforces the need for tailored service planning.